GARY, Ind. – At what point do the voters of a community ask themselves if they’ve been electing the most financially responsible school board members?

That question would certainly be legitimate in the Gary, Indiana school district, which is currently struggling with a $23.7 million budget deficit and lots of other financial headaches, including about $5 million in delinquent utility bills, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana.

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The district has been doing what it can to remain financially solvent, “including (building) closings and reducing the number of teachers and administrators to shore up the budget. However, the district’s deficit continues to climb along with the overall debts,” the news report said.

“It has been barely treading water, trying to keep up with the payroll.”

District officials would like to address some of their problems by selling off some or all of their 21 closed school buildings. That would make a great deal of sense for the thousands of students who will once again count on the struggling district to provide their education within a few short weeks.

But even that’s not possible, because the Gary school district owes the Internal Revenue Service delinquent taxes of $5.1 million and interest of $2 million.

As a result the IRS has a lien on the vacant buildings, so they can’t be sold.

“Due to the IRS issues, we can’t do anything with the buildings right now. We have to provide clear title, and we can’t do that,” Gary attorney Kenya Jones, who assists with the district’s real estate transactions, told the Times of Northwest Indiana.

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“We would love to sell the buildings. I get calls all the time, but until the IRS lien is cleared, we can’t do anything.”

Jones said one recent disappointment was the proposed sale of the former Chase Elementary School.

“The tax lien came up and we had to call a halt to it,” Jones told the news service. “We have not closed that deal. It’s still pending. I can’t discuss the details. I can’t identify the potential buyer.”